There is a need in the industry for a space efficient and readily accessible system for storing sheet music. An average band, orchestra, or choir with one thousand titles requires substantial storage space. Storage for the sheet music is typically done in four-drawer file cabinets. A disadvantage of four-drawer file cabinets is that more than a dozen of such cabinets is required to store the sheet music for the aforementioned one thousand titles. A dozen four-drawer file cabinets take up eighteen feet of wall space.
Another means of storing such sheet music is in side-by-side, laterally translatable shelves. Such laterally translatable shelves have the disadvantage of always having enough space between at least two of the shelves in order for a person to walk into the space to retrieve stored materials. Additionally, the side-by-side type design requires an extensive track system that is permanently affixed to the floor.